Just curious who else is living super frugal

[ScottnLydia]

Apparently, that's the very thing Lydia likes about knitting. Because it's complicated, requires concentration, she practices mindfullness. That is, her mind is fully involved in the knitting, the yarn, the needles, each movement of her fingers, etc. In doing this, there is no place in her mind left to recognize pain, stress, or anything negative, nothing else exists except the knitting, so it relaxes her. Sort of like self-hypnosis.

The spinal cord injuries that left her a paraplegic leave her in a lot of pain that she must endure 24/7. This is just one of the techniques she uses to deal with it. That's why I thought of it to help you to deal with your stress. It has to fit your lifestyle though. The ornaments sound great!

~S

 

[Chicks on DL]

I am going to Joann's Fabrics tomorrow to get wool yarn to try this. I like the idea of adding oil essence to add scent to the laundry. I make laundry detergent with Zote or Fels Naptha, whatever I can get my hands on, and rinse in vinegar. These balls should work just like dryer sheets. Can't wait to try it.

http://lifehacker.com/5951620/wool-...ergy?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pulsenews

UPDATE: I made these wool balls and love them! Super easy and I added a few drops of lavender oil to the balls and the laundry has just a hint of scent. So glad I tried it. Hint: make sure you buy felted wool. Also, you can make these balls using an old wool blanket cut into strips for the core and you can deconstruct an old wool sweater and reuse the wool to make a laundry ball. I love the fact that they will last 5+ years and no more dryer sheets.

 

[CarolynF]

Hi Mickey,

I have used it in cold water and it seems to work fine. I agree with you on Nothing like fresh sheets & pillowcase straight from the line! Love that smell! I used to work part-time in the school system with summers off. I started hanging out as much laundry as I could to save some on the electricty & gas bill. Actually found that hanging laundry is relaxing to me. I try to fold it as I take off the line so I can head straight for the bedrooms rather than having a pile of clothes waiting to be folded. Doesn't always happen but is nice when it does!

I love the smell of laundry that's been dried out on the line! When my granddaughters were over I happened to have some things hanging out. I told them how wonderful they smelled and what they were smelling was SunShine! Their swim suits and towels have been saturated with so much fabric softener that even after hanging outside for hours they still didn't smell like SunShine, they were disappointed.

 

[Totalcolour]

Rabbits are okay as a meat source. I wouldn't say great. The meat tastes great ... like the finest chicken meat you will ever have, juicy and fine textured. We have New Zealand/California cross rabbits.

At butchering time we get about 2 1/2 to 3 lbs of meat per rabbit. The trick with rabbits though is that they aren't quite as simple as some people think to raise.

They can't tolerate heat at all and we've had numerous issues with getting them to kit right, then our female rabbit got wry neck and died. We are just now getting ready to breed her offspring, but these guys have to be at least six months old before they are big enough to breed and carry a litter to term. They are far easier to process than a chicken though. Just skin the suckers ... and if you're any good at tanning hides you can tan them and sell them if you find a market or use the skins yourself.

I haven't read the whole of this thread, but wanted to reply to this since so many people are considering meat rabbits.

We have been doing meaties for several years (as well as CornishX chickens). The breeds we use are Champagne D'Argents for the does and Florida Whites and Rex's for the bucks. They produce good, meaty babies at 3 months dressing out around 3-4 pounds (there's only 2 of us, so that makes 3 meals).

Our set up:


Since the cages are raised we avoid contamination from other animals (including wild rabbits). Although this rabbitry doesn't show it [it was barely completed] it has hot wires below, and around the structure to deter predators. As you can see, there is electricity, and they have piped water so that it doesn't freeze in the winter (the water bottles shown were in there to let them "learn" about the nipple waterers). Since we live in WA State, we don't get a lot of heat to deal with in the summer.

We have had no issues with raising or breeding - except for an occasional "non" bred female during the warmer months. Illness is rare {occasional sniffles} so I think we have been either doing it right or been very lucky. Rabbits our our mainstay meat, although we also raise chickens, ducks and goats, and sometimes pigs, cooperatively with a friend. Even our older, no longer breedable rabbits turn out tender and tasty if cooked right. I'd encourage anyone to try it if they like taste. Very Healthy!

 

[kuntrygirl]

Has anyone watched "Extreme Cheapskates" on the TLC Channel? All I can say is WOW. And I thought I was cheap. :/

One guy said that he removed the light bulb from his refrigerator and saves $40.00 a year on his electric bill.

 

[ScottnLydia]

Has anyone watched "Extreme Cheapskates" on the TLC Channel? All I can say is WOW. And I thought I was cheap.

One guy said that he removed the light bulb from his refrigerator and saves $40.00 a year on his electric bill.

$40.00 A YEAR!!! With a 40 watt bulb, he must have been spending a LOT of time with the door open!!!

"Do I want ketchup, or mustard, ketchup or mustard, ketchup or ...."

 

[galanie]

Maybe he has teenagers. You know the drill. The exact same thing is in there all afternoon but they have to keep checking every 5 minutes to see if suddenly there's something good to eat in there.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Has anyone watched "Extreme Cheapskates" on the TLC Channel? All I can say is WOW. And I thought I was cheap. :/

One guy said that he removed the light bulb from his refrigerator and saves $40.00 a year on his electric bill.

$40.00 A YEAR!!!  With a 40 watt bulb, he must have been spending a LOT of time with the door open!!!  

"Do I want ketchup, or mustard, ketchup or mustard, ketchup or ...."

 

[kuntrygirl]

Maybe he has teenagers. You know the drill. The exact same thing is in there all afternoon but they have to keep checking every 5 minutes to see if suddenly there's something good to eat in there.

 

[mickey328]

LOL, that's one of the best comedy shows around! I can't imagine the spouses of some of those folks dealing with that for so many years! I'm all for frugal, but I definitely draw the line at asking other people for their food in restaurants...ugh!

Totalcolour, I love your hutch! We're just in the planning stages of starting with meat rabbits. We've been knocking around the idea of building our own or buying and I'm leaning toward buying the cages and then building a sort of lean to for the roof. We get some really hot temps in the summer here, so they'll need lots of shade.